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Radical tax powers for West Yorkshire could help boost its economy

LABOUR will tomorrow promise radical tax powers to West Yorkshire to allow it to boost its economy and “control its destiny”.

Councils will retain all of any increase in business rate revenues, instead of the money flowing to the Treasury for redistribution – a switch worth many hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

In addition, under Labour’s plans, £30bn of spending – three times the sum planned by the Coalition - will be devolved to local political and business leaders across England, over five years.

And those local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) will enjoy extra powers over housing, business support, back-to-work schemes and skills, as well as existing plans for transport.

Explaining the plans to the Telegraph & Argus at Westminster, Lord Adonis, the architect of the “growth review”, said: “Areas can take control of their destinies, in a way that’s much harder at present.”

And, vowing to accept the blueprint, Ed Miliband said: “The next Labour Government will ensure city and county regions get control of business rates revenue.

“I know the next Labour Government cannot solve every problem by pulling levers in Whitehall.”

The eye-catching tax plan will expand the limited local retention of business rates introduced by the Coalition last year, covering 50 per cent of any increase in investment.